Leaving Home
by Ariel Marina
Summary: Before U C Sunnydale, Tara went to Hogwarts... One shot.


Leaving Home

Also posted at TTH.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling and Joss Whedon own Buffy and Harry Potter. I still own the cat and the clothes on my back, but I ran out of chocolate…. :(

Harry Potter Crossover

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Her father was after her again. Come home, he kept saying, before someone discovers your true self. Ha! Someone already has, Dad, and I'm not going home. He accepts me for who he is. Just like I do him.

Her best friend, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf. She had discovered him after following him to the Shrieking Shack back in there fourth year, and saw him transform. She ran of course, but not out of fear. Who wouldn't run away from a werewolf on a full moon? She understood what it was like to be different, to be what people considered a monster, and she knew she wasn't alone when she saw Remus. They had a special bond, one that would never be broken.

When she confronted Remus, she first told him about herself. The words almost didn't come out her mouth, but Remus calmed her enough to say what she needed to say. Once she was finished, she remembered his reaction to her telling him she knew his secret. He was horrified, but she told him she understood being different, and they could have each other for support.

It was now near the end of her seventh year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Tara didn't want to go live with her family. She wanted to be free of them. She didn't know what to do, so she asked Remus for help.

"Well, you could leave the country. It'll be harder for them to track you down. But you'll have to speak like them. It'll be difficult," he warned.

"I just want away from them. I don't care how difficult it is."

"Well, Sirius is the expert at running away from home and not be found. We could all research a way to get you away from your dad. All the marauders will help. We'll find a way."

"Really? Thank you so much Remus," she said and hugged him. "I'm going to miss you."

"You won't have time to miss me. You'll be to busy enjoying life. I'll get the guys and we could go to the library."

"Are you trying to tell me Sirius will step foot in a library?" Tara asked as a joke, trying to lighten the mood.

"Good point, best not tell him where we're going," he laughed.

Hours later, Remus, Sirius, Peter, James and Tara were in the library. It was decided that Tara would go to a small Muggle town in California, because she had a great knowledge of Muggles, and it was the least likely place anyone would look for her.

"According to the maps, there's a small town called Sunnydale not far from LA. You could go to the university there and live a Muggle life," said James.

"Okay, but how do we get me to sound American?"

"We could do a spell to change you're accent. Remus'll have to do it, because James and I suck at Charms, and Peter looks ready to hit the sac any second," said Sirius.

Peter looked up when he heard his name. "No I'm not! Hey! We could do this spell."

Peter passed the book to the others. They looked it over and Tara looked up at Peter. "When did you find this?"

"A little before James found Sunnydale."

"This is brilliant, Pete, way to go!" said Sirius, giving his friend a pat on the back.

"It says here there are a few side effects, like stuttering until you get used to the accent, just small things. Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Remus.

"Remus, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Don't worry, it'll be okay. I trust you," she replied and hugged him.

"AWWW!"

"James, cut it out! You're acting like a five year old, and that's being nice!" Remus scolded.

"Hey! I resent that!"

Tara shook her head and smiled. "Some things never change," she whispered to herself.

"Let's get the spell done now okay? The longer I have it, the less stuttering I do once I get there."

Remus pointed his wand to Tara, in the position the book had described. "Commuto Adfatus," he said.

Tara waited for something to change. It didn't. Apparently, Peter thought the same thing.

"Did it work?"

"I don't know," said Remus. "Say something."

"L l l l like wh wh what?" Pause. It didn't sound like her. I sounded more like the actors she had seen in American movies. YES! "It w w worked!" she exclaimed excitedly! 'S s sunnyd d dale, h h here I com m me!"

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Let me know what you think. 


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